Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to crimp tools and, more particularly, to a multi-functional crimp tool for crimping connectors to electrical cables and trimming the cable in a single crimp step.
Description of the Related Art
Various tools are used to crimp a connector to an electrical cable, such as a coaxial cable. The cables are mechanically and electrically secured to a connector by crimping a portion of the connector over the cable.
A crimping operation typically includes stripping one or more outer layer(s) of an insulator from the cable in order to expose an inner electrical conductor, such as a copper wire or a copper plated steel wire, for example. The inner conductor is exposed so that it conducts electrical signals when mated with a female receiving element. After stripping the outer layer(s) of the insulator, the connector is generally inserted through the cable, with the inner conductor protruding therefrom. The cable is then compressed at a lower portion of the connector to form a crimped joint.
However, sizing the length of the outer insulation layer(s) to be stripped to expose a precise length of the inner conductor has been problematic. For example, a longer protrusion of the inner conductor may damage a solder joint or the connector itself when mated with the female receiving element. Further, to maintain a proper length of the protrusion of the inner conductor may require a user to measure the length of the protrusion and then use cutters or scissors to cut a portion of the additional length of the protrusion. Such additional steps promote inefficiencies and involve time-consuming tasks.